Pages

Thursday, October 04, 2007

An XP Reprieve

A short post, but I thought some folks might be interested in this. Microsoft has announced that it is extending the availability of Windows XP through June 2008. Sales of XP were originally scheduled to end in January 2008 - only 3 months from now. Given the continued demand for XP and I believe the lack of sales and implementation of Vista, Microsoft has decided to keep selling XP a little longer.

I don't know anyone myself that has made the switch to Vista. I know of a few people who bought new computers this past summer and all insisted on staying with XP. Of course, this does present a challenge for those who want to purchase a computer in a retail store as I never see any XP computers on the shelves any more. I think you have to order a computer direct from a manufacturer to have XP installed on it. Or, you could buy a separate copy of XP and install it yourself replacing Vista (I assume that would work). Again, you'd probably have to get a copy of XP on-line or off of eBay.

Or, if you don't necessarily need Microsoft's operating system, you can buy a Linux computer. More computer makers are offering Linux based options, including Dell, HP, and Lenovo. Another alternative is the Apple route. Of course you know I'm very happy with Linux as all the computers I have running it are rock solid. I'm intrigued by the Mac OS and want to give it a try. I'm not sure about the fact that it runs on proprietary hardware and although the user interface is supposed to be excellent, I'm not sure it would be worth the additional cost.

Anyway, if you think you'll be in the market for a new computer and wanted to have Windows XP installed, you have a few additional months now.